Von Stade presents incredible evening of song

By Edward Reichel

The Utah Symphony, under the baton of assistant conductor David Cho, opened its sixth annual Deer Valley Music Festival Friday in Snowpark's outdoor amphitheater with special guest Frederica von Stade.

There is hardly a better way to open a season — indoors or out — than with one of the premiere mezzo-sopranos of this, or any, generation. Judging by the number of empty seats and sparsely occupied lawn seating section, one would think it wasn't a big deal having her here. But those who attended the concert were witness to an incredible evening of song.

Von Stade is a legend in her own time. That's really the only way one can describe her. At 64, she still has a magnificent voice that has lost none of its luster or warmth. If anything, she's gotten better with age.

The program consisted of a wide range of works that was a wonderful portrait of von Stade as an artist. She included arias from roles she has sung for years (the title role in Georges Bizet's "Carmen") as well as more recent additions to her repertoire (the grand duchess in Jacques Offenbach's "Le grande-duchesse de Gerolstein"). But it wasn't just an operatic recital by any means. Von Stade also sung many shorter pieces and concluded the evening with a set of American songs and Broadway tunes. And she brought feeling and depth to everything she sang, along with her effusive stage personality.

After three orchestral pieces from "Carmen," von Stade took the stage and sang the "Habanera," infusing it with sensuality and warmth. Then she sang the bittersweet aria "Connais-tu le pays" from Ambroise Thomas' neglected opera "Mignon," bringing beautifully phrased lines and richly textured expressiveness to her interpretation.

She changed gears then, and put her considerable acting talents on display, for her next selection, the grand duchess' wickedly funny "Vous aimez le danger...Ah! Que j'aime les militaires!" from Offenbach's operetta "Le grand-duchesse de Gerolstein."

After another orchestral interlude, the Intermezzo from Bizet's "L'Arlesienne" Suite No. 2, von Stade finished the first half with three pieces from Joseph Cantaloube's charming "Chants d'Auvergne."

The second half was devoted to American music. Von Stade opened with two of Aaron Copland's folk arrangements, "Simple Gifts" and "Little Horses," from his collection of "Old American Songs." She followed that with Jake Heggie's "Primary Colors" from the song cycle "Deepest Desire." With a text by Helen Prejean, the Roman Catholic nun who wrote "Dead Man Walking," which Heggie turned into a hugely successful opera. The song is a tender, reflective piece, and von Stade infused her interpretation with wonderfully colored lyricism and expressiveness.

After the overture to Leonard Bernstein's "West Side Story," von Stade returned and closed the concert with a set of Broadway songs by Stephen Sondheim and Richard Rodgers, and, deviating from the printed program, yet another hilarious aria by Offenbach.